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Licensing in Pendle

Pendle has no selective or additional licensing scheme in force.

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Check an address in Pendle

We'll match the postcode to its ward and the schemes below.

Licensing, ward by ward

Select a ward to see its name and licensing.

  • National rules only12

Current ward boundaries from ONS. Some homes are exempt, so check your postcode and the scheme details below.

Selective licensing
None
Additional HMO licensing
No
Article 4 on house shares
Not yet confirmed
Consultation
None open

Licensing schemes

  • Mandatory HMO licence

    In forceMedium confidence

    Mandatory HMO licensing (Pendle fees)

    Area

    Whole borough of Pendle (national scheme).

    Fee

    Published standard fee: £886

    Council page: 'The licence fee is in two parts: Application fee of £590; Licence fee of £296' (total £886). The page does not show a date or per-room charge, though it says rooms counted include bedrooms, living rooms and communal rooms.

    Who needs one
    HMOs with five or more tenants forming two or more households who share facilities, regardless of storeys, and qualifying flats in blocks of up to two flats (national mandatory test since 1 October 2018, as described on the council page).
    Apply on the council’s website
    How we checked this

    Application is by paper form returned to housing.standards@pendle.gov.uk. The page says 'The licence is valid for five years and there is a fee.' The page text still describes the pre-2018 three-storey rule alongside the 1 October 2018 extension, so it appears not to have been updated recently; the fee may be out of date.

    Sources

Article 4 for house shares

Not yet confirmed

Whether Pendle has an Article 4 direction on house shares.

Council source

Civil penalty policy

The council's policy sets how it decides the size of a fine. The version we found has not been updated for the Renters' Rights Act.

Executive report of 24 August 2017 recommending a 'Policy and Matrix for the use of Civil Penalties' (agreed with the other Pennine Lancashire authorities) for inclusion in the Environmental Health Enforcement Policy. It covers section 72 (HMO licensing) and section 95 (selective licensing) offences with a £30,000 maximum, scored into six bands from Band 1 (£0 to £4,999) to Band 6 (£25,000 to £30,000), starting at each band's mid point, with up to £1,000 per aggravating factor (maximum £5,000). No later version was found.

Pendle's civil penalty policy

Consultations

We found no consultations when we researched Pendle.

Not yet confirmed

We could not settle these points when we researched Pendle. Check them with the council before you rely on them.

  • Not yet confirmed

    No current selective or additional licensing scheme was found. Checked: the council's landlords hub and HMO pages (which mention only mandatory HMO licensing), a site search for 'selective licensing' (results only 2015-2017 committee papers), and the council's Renters' Rights Act page. The Colne selective licensing area (parts of Waterside, Vivary Bridge and Horsfield wards) was due to start on 1 July 2017 per a 2017 Executive report; it would have ended by mid-2022 at the latest, more than 12 months ago. The council does not state the absence of a current scheme.

  • Not yet confirmed

    The HMO fee (£590 + £296) and page wording appear dated; confirm the current fee with the council.

  • Not yet confirmed

    No civil penalty policy updated for the Renters' Rights Act 2025 was found; the 2017 matrix still uses a £30,000 maximum.

  • Not yet confirmed

    Absence of an HMO Article 4 direction is inferred from site searches; the council does not publish a complete Article 4 list that was found.

Landlord register

The national landlord register is separate from licensing. Pendle is in North West, where registration is planned from 15 May 2027 to 14 August 2027. The regulations are still in draft. Read about the register